Several years ago, I tried to create a bottlecap catalog, but it was limited in structure, details, and completeness, so I am launching a new project. The previous catalog (art.canaco.org) gave much information to collectors all over the world, and I hope that the new version will serve even better by overcoming these deficiencies.
The beauty of the project, especially for Soviet caps, is in the opportunity to focus on maximum catalog completeness because we can deal with a limited time period and a limited number of mostly well-known breweries (and other factories that produced soda). In the end, it will be very interesting to learn how many Soviet caps do exist. At the moment I can't answer this question, but perhaps this answer will at last become known. There are some extensive collections of Soviet caps, but it seems almost impossible to make such a collection complete. We need a real catalog!
The previous catalog was built mostly on my own collection, which is why it didn’t include, for example, some caps with small differences: I do not collect those with only small differences. Maybe it was my mistake to make such exclusions, because a real catalog must be not only clear and simple but free of subjective evaluations. On the other hand, if we include a lot of caps with microscopic differences, the catalog would begin to be cluttered up with such information – making finding a particular cap extremely difficult. My solution to this problem is a creating a hierarchy of variations, subordinating one variation to another. In other words, the catalog will include only the main variations (parents for all other), those with significant differences. Thus both groups of collectors should be satisfied. I hope this time everybody will find the catalog useful.
What else is new? The old catalog offered no opportunity for a dialog with visitors to the site. A discussion is often more interesting and enlightening than the information alone. So now you can register and post your comments, and I hope the feedback will make the project more informative! (Spammers, keep away from this site!) Another important improvement to the project is its internationalization. Currently only two versions are available, in Russian and in English. With your help, it will be possible to translate the information into other languages. Feel free to contact me! Together we can reduce the white spaces shown for "Crown caps of the USSR" for collectors from all over the world!
I have high hopes for this catalog, and with your assistance we can make it a success!